Echoes in the Hills
by lourdesmont
Summary: Elwyn FitzGarrick and her mysterious friends hear rumors forming around the prisoners in Allentown and a certain General recuperating in Bethlehem. Something must be done to aid the cause for Freedom. And Elwyn will come face to face with her future.
1. Chapter 1

**Story Summary:** Elwyn and Connell were lovers cursed by a jealous Fae in the year 1220. The Fae doomed them to be forever parted – she to remain in our world, he in the Realm of Fae – until she yielded to the Fae's desires. To force Elwyn's decision, The Fae's curse declared that Elwyn and Connell would only meet on the battlefield where he would not remember her until he lay dying in her arms. Now Elwyn lives in a cottage in the Pocono Mountains with her friend D'Arcy – a French vampire and his friend Honoria – a demi-god and exiled heir to a DreamWorld. As the American Revolution wages in the woods and towns about them, Elwyn and her friends will hear rumors of a plot forming around the German prisoners in Allentown regarding a certain General who is recuperating in Bethlehem. Something must be done to aid the cause for Freedom. And Elwyn will come face-to-face with her future.

**Author's Notes:** First of all, Elwyn, Connell, D'Arcy and Honoria and their stories belong to me and I have lived with them for the last twelve years – in other words – mine, mine, mine! Hands off! General Lafayette did recuperate at Moravian Hospital in Bethlehem in the fall of 1777 after the Battle of Brandywine. At the same time, there was an American POW camp for captured Germans in Allentown – the plaque marking the location still exists at the corner of Second and Liberty streets. The Germans in the camp were captured in Trenton in December of 1776 – sound familiar? The Germans stayed in the Lehigh Valley after the war since there was a huge German-speaking community already there. I am borrowing the characters from "The Young Rebels" – Jeremy, Isak, Henry, Elizabeth and Sargent Boggs and I promise to treat them with love and respect. Lafayette and other historical characters are real. The Germans and the young English lieutenant around whom the plot for this story revolves are all mine – as are any … er … strange goings-on.

ECHOES IN THE HILLS PROLOUGE 

**PLACE:** The Lake District of England

**TIME:** Spring 1220

Elwyn slipped the green woolen cloak about her shoulders, thin hands reaching up to fasten the heavy silver clasp at her throat. She cast a worried glance out her window to the Faerie lights dancing in the birch trees atop the enchanted mound, pausing for one moment, thinking about her actions. Yet the call of an evening spent in the arms of her betrothed, atop their own hill, listening to the sounds of Vespers drifting up to them from the monastery below was too much of a temptation. She turned, slippered feet moving silently across the stone floor of her sleeping chamber. Elwyn easily opened the heavy wooden door, slipping through it and closing it behind her. She moved down the stone stairs that encircled the main tower of her family's castle, pausing at the bottom, looking around for retainers and finding none. Elwyn quickly crossed the main entry, brazenly walking out the front door and into the lowering light of evening. She ran quietly across the courtyard and was on the path that lead past the enchanted birch trees and to the hill where Connell waited when a hand reached out, grabbing at her arm and pulling her from the path. Elwyn screamed and felt a hand go over her mouth.

"If you let out another shriek like that, I shall pull your hair and then drag you back to Father," a familiar voice breathed in her ear.

The hand over her mouth fell away and Elwyn angrily whirled on the man behind her. "How dare you frighten me in such a manner!" she screamed at her brother, stamping on his foot.

Tiercel looked down at the little foot that had stomped on his heavy leather boot before raising his head and grinning at his younger sister. "I shall dare as I please, my lady," he said. "You are yet a maiden and that means you are under the control of every male in this household."

"You know where I am going," Elwyn hissed at her brother.

Tiercel gently took his sister by the shoulders and turned her around. "And the Faerie lights dance brighter than normal this evening." He sighed. "Did you truly believe I would let you walk alone on such a night?" He was grateful his sister could not see the grim look on his face. "You were the one who tempted the Fae by climbing the hill to watch them dance; I would not have you pay for that mistake." He wrapped his arms about his sister. "Nor would I have my best friend pay. I wish to see the two of you happily wedded with many children playing at your feet."

Elwyn rolled her eyes. "As does both our families, our cousin Alexander and his kingdom in Scotland, Henry and his kingdom here and Philippe and his kingdom in France." Elwyn gently drew away from her brother's embrace, turning to face him. "Is there anyone in this world that has not planned my marriage to Connell for political or military purposes?"

"You and Connell," Tiercel said softly.

"Yes," Elwyn acknowledged with a blush and nod of her head. "I love him and I would have run away with him to very edge of the world if I was not permitted to wed him."

Tiercel offered his sister an arm. "Then we should not keep him waiting." He patted the hand that gripped his strong arm. "I should despair were Connell to think I kept you from him."

Elwyn laughed delightedly at her brother and allowed him to walk her past the Faerie mound and the lights dancing there.

They walked through the small cemetery where two generations of FitzGarrick's had been laid to rest. They walked down the path that meandered through a field of wildflowers – the lights from Wyndenmere, the DeBruyne castle, winking on a hill off in the distance. Smoke could be smelled on the light spring breezes that blew past and the siblings knew they were close to their destination. The smoke came from the small monastery that rested in the valley between the two great estates, keeping the peace even as the monks tended to the spiritual needs of their flock. Yet the responsibility for the peace between the families – one of Saxon descent, one of Norman – and the peace along the northern English border with Scotland would soon rest upon the shoulders of an eighteen year old girl and her twenty-two year old betrothed.

"This is where I leave you," Tiercel said as he and Elwyn stopped at the bottom of a hill. He gazed upward and could see a strong silhouette against the evening light. He placed a kiss on his sister's cheek. "I shall wait here, in contemplation, until you return."

"Thank you," Elwyn said before turning and running up the hill and into the open arms of the man who waited for her. "Connell," she breathed as her lips sought his.

"My beloved Wynnie," he whispered against her lips, a smile curling his own.

Elwyn drew back. "You know I despise that name!" she admonished him.

Connell grinned at her, merriment sparkling in his bright green eyes. "Even from me?"

"Never from you," Elwyn relented, taking Connell's offered hand and walking with him to the oak tree. She waited until Connell had taken a seat upon the blue cloak spread on the ground before sitting before him, allowing his arms to enfold her. "Tiercel is waiting down below," she said softly.

"And a best friend never there was nor shall be again," Connell breathed as he buried his face in Elwyn's long brown curls.

The sound of a bell rang out from the monastery.

"I do so love this time," Elwyn sighed as she settle back into Connell's embrace. "The sound of the monks," her hand began to idly run back and forth along Connell's arm, "the softness of the night," she turned her head, seeking and finding another kiss, "the warmth of your love."

"And I am expected to wait for another four months until our wedding night?" Connell wondered, his hands caressing the curves of Elwyn's waist.

"My lord!" Elwyn protested half-heartedly. "My brother – your best friend – is below and will tell my lord father if he suspects I have behaved with less than a modicum of modesty." She sighed and snuggled her head into the hollow of Connell's neck. "It is not easier on me, I assure you. But we have waited this long …"

"I can wait," Connell assured her. "I do not like it but I can wait." He grinned, he could not help it. "And there are always lovely farm lasses willing to throw themselves at the feet of the baron's son."

"My lord!" Elwyn feigned shock.

"My lady?" Connell wondered.

"You are a beast, sir!"

"And you love me in spite of it," he reminded her.

"I do," Elwyn said, sighing happily. "I do."

"No more than I love you," Connell said into Elwyn's ear as he rested his head against hers, the sound of Vespers beginning to rise from the darkness at the bottom of the hill.

They sat there, like that, comfortably entwined in each other's arms as evening descended and the music of Heaven rose. No words needed to be spoken for it was enough to share this simple moment of privacy in lives otherwise dictated by the winds of change and the demands of politics. The harmonies that drifted up to them, past them and toward the throne of God in sincere supplication drew the young couple into their magic. It wove about them, promising peace during the coming night and far into a dreamed-of future. It spoke to them of hope in the face of trial and the grace that sees God's children through. It spoke of righteous judgement and abundant mercy. It spoke of the strength of unconditional love.

Elwyn and Connell were so enthralled by the sounds about them, the music of Heaven and Earth, that they did not notice the small, glowing rip that manifested itself in the air behind them.

"Think it is so easy," a menacing voice said softly causing them both to jump to their feet, Connell quickly moving between Elwyn and than man before them.

Kariel looked at the human male with undisguised contempt before turning his attention to the head that peaked out from behind that interloper's shoulder. She was as beautiful as the first night he had seen her watching the Faeries dance. He had enchanted the fourteen-year old adolescent that evening and let her return to her family. He had done so knowing she could return to him one day to live forever by his side in the eternal youth and beauty that is Fae. Kariel had not counted on the all too human emotion of love. He had not counted on it and it had slowly driven him insane with jealousy. He would not heed the Fae who warned of the consequences of a human who did not return the affection offered by one of their kind. Kariel was ancient and powerful and he could – and would – make this mortal girl his. No matter the cost.

"Do you think you can come here and listen to that," his lips curled in disgust as he nodded toward the monastery, taking a step forward, "and think such weak power will be of any use to you?" He held out a hand toward Elwyn. "Come," he ordered, "you belong to me."

"I do not belong to you!" Elwyn replied. "I belong to no one."

"Then what is this thing that stands before us?" Kariel wondered, looking down his nose at Connell.

Connell opened his mouth but Elwyn stayed him with a touch on his arm. "I do not belong to him," she repeated. "I am with him. He is a part of me and I am a part of him. My heart has chosen him freely and not because he claims me. I love him!"

Connell laid a hand over the one on his arm. "And my heart has chosen her. I love her, too."

"Love," Kariel spit out the word. "What do mortals know of love?" He took another step forward. "What do you know of emotion that endures beyond the scope of your pathetic little lives?"

"It does not matter!" Elwyn told him. "I shall love him beyond death!"

"You shall love him beyond death?" Kariel's voice had grown soft and as cold as ice.

Connell watched the man steadily approaching him and Elwyn and eyed the sword resting against the tree lovingly.

"You shall love him beyond death?" Kariel repeated, his slanted golden eyes beginning to glow dangerously. "Let us see if you truly believe that!"

It all happened within the single beat of a heart.

Kariel spread his hands wide, a gold aura glowing and growing about him as he opened a rift between the worlds. He lunged for Elwyn, hoping to drag her into the sparkling Realm of Fae on the other side of the rift. Just as he was lunging for Elwyn, Connell was lunging for his sword, reaching it and swinging round, the edge of his sword knocking Kariel's hands away from the Elwyn who stumbled backwards, tripping over the hem of her gown and falling on her bottom.

"You!" Kariel hissed as he grabbed at the neck of Connell's tunic, pulling him backward with unnatural strength.

"Elwyn!" Connell called out as the wool of his tunic bit into his throat, threatening to cut off his air. "Run!"

Elwyn struggled to her feet, hands reaching out for the man she loved. "Connell!"

"Run!" Connell repeated, able to see what Elwyn could not – Tiercel just reaching the top of the hill behind his sister. "Now!"

Kariel, though, saw Tiercel and in a moment, Fates were sealed for centuries.

"You want your lover," Kariel asked as he twisted the material in his hands, Connell reaching for the constriction about his throat, struggling to breathe.

"Do not hurt him!" Elwyn begged.

"Tiercel," Connell managed, "take her away!"

"You want to find out what it is to love a mortal?"

"Please," Elwyn cried.

"Go!" Connell gasped.

"Your wish is granted!" Kariel said as he dragged Connell through the rift between the worlds, closing it just as Elwyn and Tiercel reached it, his laughter ringing in the ears of the girl who fell sobbing to her knees and the man who fell to his, embracing her in a vain attempt at comfort …


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Summary:** Lieutenant John FitzGarrick delivers news to his commanding office, Major William Alastair. D'Arcy wakes to another evening to find his house missing one person. He is warned by his housekeeper that things will happen that no one can stop. Jeremy sees things in the aftermath of an ambush. Henry and Elizabeth find a strange woman covered in blood..

**Author's Notes:** While a senior in high school during 1976, I was a tour guide for the local area. I learned about a family of settlers who lived outside of Stone Church- not far from where Elywn and D'Arcy live – who were massacred by a marauding band of Iroquois, their scalped bodies found lying in various places about the farm. There was one survivor but I am changing history and not leaving any survivors. I am including that bit of local history into the story. Also, the city of Allentown was known as Lehigh Station until after the Civil War and I am using that name to keep history as straight as it can be in this strange little tale.

**PLACE:** Frenchtown, New Jersey

**TIME:** October 1777

CHAPTER ONE

Lieutenant John Michael FitzGarrick pulled at the hem of his bright red coat, straightening that which did not need to be straightened. He looked down at himself and knew his appearance was as good as it was going to be, he straightened his shoulders and knocked lightly on the closed door before him.

"Come," a stern voice called out.

John opened the door and entered the sparsely furnished office, walking a few steps across the room and standing at attention before the wooden desk and the man seated behind it. John clicked his heels together, eyes forward and saluted. "Lieutenant FitzGarrick reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, Lieutenant," Major William Alastair told him and waited until the young man standing before him assumed the stance. "What news do you bring?"

"The raid upon Stone Church was less than successful," John replied, cringing inwardly as he waited for the anticipated outburst.

"Explain yourself," Major Alastair said evenly.

"I did as ordered and took five foot soldiers from the barracks and we traveled to Easton and along the Delaware to Martin's Creek. There the five Iroquois warriors - as expected - joined us. We moved northeast through the night and made camp just outside of Stone Church. The farm belonging to the Latimer's was not hard to locate but was isolated as detailed in the intelligence received." John drew a breath. "We waited until first light of the next day to make our presence known. The Latimer's were struck unawares."

"And did they know anything of the rumors regarding the arms that the rebels are supposedly sneaking down the Delaware?"

"If they did, sir, they said nothing of it," John told him, hiding his own disgust, "even under duress. But they did confirm another rumor and it is that a certain favorite general of Washington's is recuperating at the Moravian Hospital in Bethlehem."

"Is he now?" Major Alastair said, a decidedly wicked little smile curling his lips. "That is, indeed, interesting news." He leaned back in his chair. "You are aware that in the rebel prison camp in Lehigh Station they hold Colonel Friedrich von Albrecht? He is a close friend of our beloved Royal Family."

"I had heard such, sir," John replied.

"Perhaps, the raid was not as great a failure as you deem it. We may not have discovered the trail they are using to bring the munitions down the river but we may have just found ourselves a bargaining chip for the freedom of Colonel von Albrecht."

"As you say, sir."

Major Alastair studied the face of the young man before him. "Have your say," he ordered.

"The Indians, sir," John began and could not stop the slight grimace that crossed his handsome face. "They massacred the entire family. All of the Latimer's are dead – right down to the smallest child. They took their scalps!"

Major Alastair rose from his chair and walked around to place a hand on his lieutenant's shoulder; he was fond of the young man and was personally grooming the heir to a very old, very powerful, very loyal family for great things. "Let it go, son," he said. "There is always a cost during war and unfortunately it is usually paid by those with the least reason to pay."

"As you say, sir," John replied, knowing it would be a long time – if ever – before he could forget the sights that had met his eyes that afternoon.

"Go now and find a comfortable tavern in the town and the warmth of a comely barmaid to ease the chill in your heart."

"Yes sir," John said as he once again straightened, saluted and turned smartly on his heel, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Major William Alastair watched as the door closed. He walked over to the window of his office and drew back the curtain, staring into the lowering light of an early autumn evening. William laughed – a low, triumphant sound. "I may have just found a way to get myself out of this hell hole and back to civilization!"

--

D'Arcy de Poulignac rose from his slumber, instantly awake. He sat upright, a thin hand reaching to slightly pull back the heavy draperies that surrounded his bed. A smile curled his lips as he took note of the violet light filtering into the room through other heavy draperies that hung over the lone attic window. D'Arcy flung back the draperies onto which he held and slipped from his bed. He walked across the dusty attic floor and down the stairs to the second floor. He exited the attic door and stood in the hallway listening, his sharp ears hearing nothing, a look of pain crossing his refined features.

"Not again," he sighed sadly.

D'Arcy moved gracefully and silently down the stairs from the second floor to the main floor of the house he now called home. He surveyed the interior of his home, noting the candles and oil lamps that flickered in the parlor and the dining room, casting dancing shadows into corners where the light could not fully reach. He shook his head and turned toward the back of house, walking down the hallway and into the kitchen, pausing in the door of the brightly lit room. "Where is she?" he asked.

The old woman sitting at the table looked up at him. "Gone," she said simply.

"To where?" D'Arcy demanded.

For a brief moment the rheumy eyes of the old woman were replaced by slanted pools of endless ebony but then the moment passed. "I do not know."

D'Arcy walked to the table, sitting down, ignoring the glowing orb that hung floating over the table, filling the room with light that no mere candle or oil lamp ever could. He took hold of the old woman's hands. "Honoria, please," he pleaded. "You know what she is like when this happens. You know how distressed she becomes. Do you not remember the first night that we found her?"

"How could I ever forget?" Honoria wondered. "She was half out of her mind with the grief and the stress and she nearly died from the chill she caught." She shook her head sadly. "But this time I cannot tell you where she has gone."

"I knew it!" D'Arcy shouted. "You do know where she is! Tell me! Tell me so I can go and bring her home!"

Slowly the old woman seated before D'Arcy began to fade away and in her place was a tall, ageless beauty with ebony hair that gleamed blue beneath the glowing orb and slanted ebony eyes that held the wisdom of ages forgotten long before man was even a dream. "You cannot go to her," the woman said, her voice strangely hollow. "Not this time. There are others who need to find her, to bring her home. There are greater things in motion here than you can imagine. You will confront your past and she will face her future and no one can change what is to happen." The strange woman faded back into the old housekeeper. "We cannot bring her home this time. Not this time."

D'Arcy stared at the old woman before him, anger glaring in his eyes, white tips sneaking from beneath his upper lip. He threw up his hands and screamed in frustration, rising to his feet and beginning to pace. "I do not like this!" he growled. "I do not like this, at all!"

--

The battle had been swift and brutal – a sneak attack on a convoy of food and medical supplies bound for Valley Forge. Word of the existence and destination of the convoy had managed to find the ears of those who did not wish it to reach its destination. They had lain in wait, hidden in the surrounding woods, as the convoy used a trail known only to those who lived in the local area. They had chosen the spot for ambush carefully, lessons learned from their Indian allies proven valuable, attacking the convey in an area where the trail narrowed, a lake on one side, steep cliffs on the other. The sound of shots had echoed off the cliffs, the cries of attackers and defenders rising into the twilight sky. The sounds of battle had lasted for nearly an hour before fading away, the convoy safely defended, the dead, dying and wounded lying about in the fog that had risen from the lake, mixing and mingling with the smoke from the battle, distorting vision, disorienting the survivors.

Jeremy Larkin stumbled over a log as he moved through the fog, listening to the sounds about him, struggling to find those who had been hurt in the ambush. "Darn," he muttered as he rubbed a bruised shin. He straightened and walked over the fallen log, standing still and listening. A puzzled look crossed his face as he heard something he had not expected – a woman's voice. Jeremy focused in on that voice and he followed the sound.

"I cannot do this any longer," the female voice cried.

Jeremy moved through the smoke and fog.

"Connell!" the voice continued to cry.

A break formed in the fog and Jeremy paused at the sight that met his eyes.

A young woman with long brown curls sat on the cool ground, the bodice of her dress covered in blood. Her arms were wrapped around a young man with long blonde hair and a gaping wound in his chest. Their hands were clasped and she was crying.

"Wynnie," the young man gasped and arched his back.

"Connell, please stay," she pleaded. "Please do not leave me again."

"I … I … not much time," the man breathed. "Listen … you must listen …"

The young woman closed her eyes and bent down to place kisses over the man's face.

"Elwyn … danger … the guns …" The young man drew a deep shuddering breath; it was obvious he did not have much longer. "The hospital … get the general …" He smiled at her. "Love you …"

"I love you so much," she breathed back, smiling through her tears.

He reached up a hand to touch her face. "Faith," he breathed. "Keep faith …" his hand slipped from her face, his head falling backward.

"Connell?" the young woman asked and let out a wail torn from the depths of a tormented soul as the fog closed in around her.

Her cry finally startled Jeremy from the spell in which he had been wrapped as he watched them and he quickly moved through the thickening fog guided by the fading sound of weeping. A puzzled from crossed his face as he reached ths spot where he had seen the couple – there was no one there.

"Jeremy!" a voice called out.

"Over here, Isak!" Jeremy called back, looking around in confusion. "I know I saw them," he muttered under his breath.

"Saw who?" Isak asked as he finally reached Jeremy's side.

Jeremy did not look up at his friend but waved his hand over empty ground. "There was a young woman here," he said softly.

"A young woman?" Isak wondered, a raised eyebrow punctuating his question.

Jeremy did not seem to hear him. "And she was holding a dying man in her arms." He raised his head to look at Isak. "And now there is nothing here!"

"A vanishing woman and a dying man?" Isak asked, reaching out to tap a finger against Jeremy's head. "Are you sure you did not take a blow to the head during the fighting?"

"I am sure," Jeremy replied and looked around, trying to peer through the ever thickening fog. "I know what I saw."

"Shall I tell you what I know?" Isak pointed off in the direction of the three wagon convoy. "There are still wagons full of supplies that are needed in Valley Forge. There are wounded – ours and theirs – who need to get there, as well. Another half day will see us safely there and another day of good riding will see us back in Chester."

Jeremy pulled himself together. "You are right. I know you are right." He laughed rather nervously and clasped his friend on the shoulder. "Now I am beginning to see things!"

Isak waved a hand through the air, the fog swirling about in the currents he created. "It is this fog; it distorts vision." He grinned at Jeremy. "At least it was not a ghost!"

--

Henry huffed and puffed up the side of the small hill, a handkerchief coming from his pocket, wiping at his forehead. "Elizabeth!" he called out.

Elizabeth paused, turning around, a hamper in her hands. "It is just a small hill, Henry!"

"It is not the size of the mountain we tackle," Henry assured her, "it is the pace at which we tackle it."

Elizabeth laughed and walked back to Henry, easily slipping her arm through his. "Then we shall tackle it together for is that not how we can strength – in our unity?"

Henry patted the hand resting on his arm. "A wiser and more gracious woman there never existed."

"You tell that to your friend Jeremy."

"I do," Henry assured her, "at every opportunity that presents itself."

"You!" Elizabeth replied with a toss of her head and a large smile.

The two friends continued to walk up the hill – at a slower pace – reaching the top and pausing momentarily to gaze over the scenic valley spread below them. Henry took the hamper from Elizabeth, placing the blanket that covered it on the ground. He and Elizabeth sat down, Elizabeth retrieving food and drink from the ample interior of the hamper and passing a portion to Henry. They chatted while they ate of this and that, the latest town gossip, the latest scandal from Philadelphia, avoiding the one subject that hung potent in the air between them. Finally the meal was done, the hamper refilled and Henry and Elizabeth sat at the edge of the blanket, their feet pointing off in the distance, Henry's eyes closed, Elizabeth's face raised to the sun, enjoying the warm Indian Summer day.

"Do you think they are all right?" Elizabeth wondered as she lowered her head, her gaze seeming to search the surrounding countryside.

Henry nodded his head. "There was nothing untoward – just escorting a simple convoy. You know we heard no mutterings of anything dangerous."

"I just worry," Elizabeth told him.

Henry opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "As do I," he replied. "But the destination is not that far distant and but an easy ride back to Chester for men in the good shape of Jeremy and Isak."

Elizabeth laughed, her joy carrying out upon the warm autumn breeze. "You can do anything to which you put your mind, Henry Abington, and do not try to convince me otherwise!" Her laughter faded into a small smile. "Thank you for coming with me this day. I could not have borne another meal inside." Her gaze returned to scanning the valley below dotted with bright splashes of rich fall colors. "All too soon there will be no more days for picnic lunches and we shall be stuck inside for the winter."

"I am glad you asked me," Henry told her, looking down as Elizabeth's hand clasped his arm. "What …" he began.

"Henry, look!" Elizabeth pointed to a small grouping of bushes at the bottom of the hill. "Something is moving in there!"

Henry's gaze followed Elizabeth's finger; he did see something disturbing the otherwise peaceful stillness of the county side. "It is probably just an animal," he told her.

Elizabeth had let go of his arm and was rising to her feet. "Animals do not wear blue dresses!" she replied, already moving down the gentle incline.

"Elizabeth," Henry warned as he got to his feet, following her. "Do not go alone!"

But Elizabeth paid him no heed and ran lightly down the hill, stopping just short of the bushes. "Oh dear!" she breathed, a hand going to her throat. "Henry!" she called. "Quickly!"

"I am right here," Henry began and shook his head. "Oh dear …"

Elizabeth was on her knees, gently moving tangled branches out of the way, uncovering a young woman, her eyes closed, the front of her blue dress covered in dried blood. Elizabeth reached out trembling fingers for the woman's neck.

"Is she alive?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth nodded as her hands moved easily over still limbs, feeling a scalp beneath thick curls. Elizabeth looked up at Henry. "I do not think she is hurt. I do not think the blood is her own." Elizabeth worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "We should try and move her out of branches."

"Let me," Henry offered and he moved to kneel at the woman's head, slipping his hands under her shoulders and pausing as eyelids began to flutter. "Miss," Henry wondered. "Can you hear me?"

"Connell," came the barely breathed word as fluttering eyelids finally opened, breath drawn in sharply. "Do not hurt me!"

"We are not going to hurt you," Elizabeth told her, getting the other woman's attention, seeing a bit of relief pass through her panic in her eyes. "Do you know where you are? Can you tell us what happened?"

The woman's chin began to tremble, tears falling down her cheeks. "Connell," she repeated.

"Is that your husband?" Elizabeth asked, taking note of the intertwined rings worn on a chain about the woman's neck. "Has he been hurt?"

"Please," Henry said softly, touched by the woman's distressed condition, "allow us to help."

"No one can help," the woman cried, opening her eyes to gaze up at the pleasant round face looking down at her. "No one can ever help."

"My name is Henry Abington," Henry said with a smile and a nod to Elizabeth. "And that is my friend, Elizabeth Coates."

"Elwyn," the woman managed around her tears and shook her head. "Ellie."

Elizabeth took her hand, squeezing in gently. "Ellie," she began softly, "let us help you get into a sitting position and then you must allow us to help."

Ellie nodded, the tears still flowing down her cheeks.

Henry nodded at Elizabeth who took Ellie's other hand in her own. "Let us do all the work," he told Ellie and began to lift her to a sitting position.

"Are you all right?" Elizabeth asked as what little color was left in Ellie's face began to drain.

"I think … I think …" Ellie said as her eyes rolled up and she fell forward into Elizabeth's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**The story to this point:** In the year 1220, lovers Elwyn FitzGarrick and Connell DeBruyne were cursed by a jealous Fae named Kariel to spend eternity apart. They would only meet on the battlefield where Connell would die in Ellie's arms. Over five hundred years later, Elwyn (She prefers to be called Ellie, by the way!) is living in the Poconos with D'Arcy de Poulignac, a vampire of French descent and an old woman named Honoria – who is not quite what she seems. Jeremy and Isak were escorting a supply train to Valley Forge when it was ambushed and Jeremy thought he saw a young couple in the fog-shrouded night. The next day Henry and Elizabeth found Ellie entangled in some bushes. And Ellie carries a warning from Connell that could save lives – if she can act upon the knowledge.

**Chapter Summary:** General Lafayette is proving to be an impatient patient. Henry and Elizabeth question Ellie and hear words that shock them. Lieutenant FitzGarrick receives orders to retrieve General Lafayette from Moravian Hospital. And Jeremy and Isak meet some friends on their return home.

**TIME:** October 1777

CHAPTER TWO

The harried, tired doctor closed the door to the private room were behind him, leaning against the wall and sighing.

"Is he still being stubborn?" a voice asked.

The doctor nodded. "The man is impossible! He is young enough to be my son and I should dearly love to take him over my knee and paddle his behind."

The man before him nodded. "I, too, know the feeling." His lips curled in a smirk. "Yet I wonder what General Washington would say if word to reach him that his beloved young general was being – er – paddled by the very doctors entrusted with his care?"

The doctor leaning against the wall only shook his head. "Right at this moment, I do not care what any one thinks. I have ordered him to bed with the threat of restraints if he even sets foot out of that bed! That leg wound is never going to heal if it is not given time to rest!" He straightened. "And I have other patients who need my care. He is not the only one wounded by this damn war."

"Go," the other man said, "and I will take sense to our demanding patient."

The doctor waved his hand toward the closed door. "Have at him and Godspeed," he said and walked off down the hallway muttering to himself.

The man stood for a moment, drawing a deep breath, composing himself before opening the door to the hospital room. "General," he said as he shook his head, closing the door behind him. "Were you not ordered to stay off that leg?"

Lafayette turned from window, a sheepish grin on his handsome face. _"Oui,"_ he replied.

"And are you not disobeying a direct order from your physician?"

"_Oui,"_ Lafayette said again. "But I am not known for obeying orders." He grinned. "It is deplorable but I am rather obstinate, Doctor."

"Well, then, you shall be an obstinate young man without a leg, if you do not follow the orders of your physicians." The doctor crossed his hands over his chest. "And then how will you be able to return to battle?"

Lafayette seemed to think for a moment and slowly nodded. He held to the wall as he limped back to bed, a frown creasing his handsome features as he settled back on the bed.

"Does that hurt?" the doctor wanted to know.

"Perhaps," Lafayette admitted.

"I shall get you something for the pain and then you must rest," the doctor told him. "It shall not be much longer before you can return to your troops," he paused for effect, "if you follow our directions."

"As you would," Lafayette said, raising his head to look at the doctor, the solemn look on his face belied by the twinkle in his eye.

"I thought so," the doctor muttered to himself. "Stay seated and I shall have someone bring you something for the pain."

"_Merci,"_ Lafayette replied; his leg did hurt when he cared to admit to it.

"And you must stay in this room," the doctor added, pulling an envelope from his pocket and handing it to Lafayette who took it eagerly. "This arrived today with news that the British may know that you are here." A smile crossed his face. "Senior staff do not wish anything else to befall you."

Lafayette paused in his reading to look at the doctor. "I think it is time I listened to my physicians."

--

"Miss?" Henry wondered as he held out the dipper of water. "I really think you should drink this."

The woman looked at Henry with empty brown eyes and shook her head.

Elizabeth laid a hand on Henry's shoulder and he turned to look up at her. "What is wrong with her?" Elizabeth wondered.

A puzzled look crossed Henry's face for one moment. "Shock, I would think," he said as he turned back to the woman. "Something terrible must have happened for her to be covered in so much blood. I should go to town and retrieve medications from my shop."

Henry and Elizabeth had taken the woman they found entangled in the bushes back to her uncle's barn. There had been trepidation on both of their parts regarding such an action but the Coates farm was the closest place to where they had been picnicking. The woman had recovered enough of her senses to be able to walk the distance back to the farm with some help. She had said nothing the entire time, allowing herself to be blindly led. Elizabeth had wanted to take her into the house but Henry had thought such a decision unwise. They had custody of a young woman covered in blood and they did not why. They could not risk her Uncle John finding the woman and immediately sending for the authorities. So now they sat in the barn, hidden in one of the empty stables, trying to coax answers from someone unwilling or unable to give them.

Elizabeth walked around Henry and knelt in the straw. She reached out and took the woman's hands in her own, raising her eyes to look up at the woman seated on a hay bale. "You said your name was Elwyn?" Elizabeth tried.

"Ellie." The woman shook her head. "Only D'Arcy calls me Elywn."

Elizabeth glanced briefly at Henry; they had a name. "Who is D'Arcy?" Elizabeth wondered.

"Connell," the woman cried softly, her eyes closing, the tears flowing down her cheeks. "I cannot do this anymore. I cannot do this anymore."

"Cannot do what?" Henry asked softly.

Ellie opened her eyes. "You would not believe me, if I told you." Her gaze grew distant as she seemed to remember something. Ellie fixed desperate eyes upon Elizabeth. "I have to return home!" she said. "There is something I must do." She frowned. "The guns. The general. The hospital. I must return home!"

Henry and Elizabeth exchanged shocked looks, the same thought running through their minds – General Lafayette.

"Surely you do not think…" Henry breathed as Elizabeth looked at him and returned his attention to Ellie. He laid a hand upon her arm. "What are you saying?"

"I do not know!" Ellie insisted. "I never know. That is not how it works! I must get home! Honoria will know; she always knows." She looked between Henry and Elizabeth, anger on one face, confusion on the other. "Please! Just let me leave! "

There was a potent silence in the great barn.

"We cannot let you leave," Henry said with a shake of his head. "In fact, I think it would be prudent to deliver you to someone who can treat you and will be able to help."

Ellie's eyes grew wide and frightened.

"No," came the softly spoken admonishment from Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth…" Henry tried.

Elizabeth took one of her hands that had been holding to Ellie's and laid it gently on Henry's arm. "Something is happening that I do not understand," she began and bit her bottom lip. "But I think it is important that we trust this woman." She shook her head at the look that crossed Henry's face. "Call it what you will – woman's intuition, the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart. I just think we need to trust this time." A small smile crossed her face. "And we can travel toward Jeremy and Isak."

"They should be on their way back," Henry agreed. He thought silently for a moment. "All right," he agreed rather unwillingly. "We shall do it your way this time. But if Jeremy or Isak think this too risky, you must agree to follow their lead."

"Agreed," Elizabeth nodded and turned back to Ellie. "Where is your home?"

"North of Bethlehem," Ellie replied, her eyes closing, unable to see the color drain from the faces of the two people before her.

--

Lieutenant John Michael FitzGarrick stood on the banks of the Lehigh River and sighed. He missed his home so much. He missed the gently rolling hills, the deep, blue lakes. He missed the comfort of sitting before the fire on a cold night as the snow swirled outside the windows of the castle keep. He missed summer afternoons spent swimming in the haunted pond. John laughed; he no longer believed the family story of a man going mad and drowning his betrothed in the lovely waters. Yet there had been a time when he had willingly accepted every story of every haunting on his family's estate as truth. Now John just wished for this silly little rebellion to be over so he could return to the lakes and mountains of his youth.

"How I miss you," he said as he opened the small locket in his hands, staring at a miniature of a young woman with bright blue eyes and an abundance of blonde curls. John sighed. "Yet I cannot ask you to wait for a man who may never return." He closed the locket and slipped it into an inner pocket. "Oh, Charlotte."

"Lieutenant," a voice called and John turned around to see one of Major Alastair's young aides-de-camp approaching him.

"Yes," John replied.

"The Major is requesting your presence at the house, Sir," the young man said. "I am ordered to return with you at my side."

John waved a hand in the boy's direction. "Lead on."

John followed the boy across the expanse of slowly dying grass that led from the edge of the river to the fine stone house that the Major had commandeered as his headquarters. The owners, an elderly couple loyal to the Tory cause, had willingly turned over their home, taking a boat for England, returning to the land of their youth for their final days. A grimace passed over John's young face as he entered through the back door as he wondered if he would be that old before he saw home again.

"The Major is in his study," the aide said and discreetly disappeared.

John followed the center hallway to the front of the house and turned left, knocking at the door to the study.

"Come," a voice called out and John entered.

"You sent for me sir," John stated.

Major William Alastair, youngest brother of the Duke of Avon, looked up from the papers spread across his desk. "I did," he said and waved John into the room. He waited until John had closed the door before nodding at the other men about the desk. "You are acquainted with Lieutenant Charles Morrisey," the Major nodded at the man to his right and then nodded to the man to his left. "And this is Lieutenant Miles Braxton."

"Gentlemen," John said as he approached the desk, his keen eyes scanning the papers. "That looks like a map of Bethlehem."

Major Alastair nodded. "It is," he said as he placed a finger on the map. "And this is the Moravian Hospital where General Washington's new favorite is recovering."

Major Alastair exchanged pleased looks with the men to other side. "I told you he was a capable officer."

Lieutenant Morrisey cleared his throat. "We are planning a covert mission to get into the hospital and get the General out."

John shook his head. "That will not be easy. Surely he must be under guard."

"Not that you would know," Lieutenant Braxton replied. "These colonists seem to think that the less attention they draw to one of their most important officers, the better and more secure that officer shall be." He frowned. "We shall see the lie put to their beliefs."

"John," Major Alastair said, "Lieutenants Morrisey and Braxton have managed to place several orderlies within the walls of the hospital who are loyal and true to our cause. These orderlies are in such a position as to drug the food that the General receives. Once that is done, we need to get him out of there and that is where you come in."

"Me?" John wondered.

"I have seen you in civilian clothing," Major Alastair said, "and you move with impunity amidst the local people, almost as if you were one of them."

"Such a talent can be a great asset," Lieutenant Morrisey finished. "We are going to take the General from his room in one of the laundry hampers that the hospital uses to send out their linens. We shall place his drugged body into the hamper and convey the hamper to the basement of the hospital and from there back here to this house."

"I understand," John said, "but I do not understand why I am needed."

Lieutenant Braxton enlightened John. "We need someone who can drive the cart with no suspicion." He pointed at several spots between Bethlehem and Lehigh Station. "These are checkpoints that must be negotiated." He raised his eyes to John. "With you at the reins of the wagon ferrying out cargo, we believe we shall have a better chance to negotiate this points."

John nodded and frowned as he studied the map. "But could you not just as easily move through the woods and fields – here and here, " his finger reached out to trace a line, "rather than risk the checkpoints."

"We could," Lieutenant Morrisey replied. "But then we run the chance of a patrol and that is something we do not wish to chance."

John quietly studied the map for a moment longer before raising his eyes to his commanding officer. "When do we proceed?"

"Two days time," Major Alastair said.

--

"I will so glad to return to Chester," Jeremy said as he adjusted his seat in the saddle.

Isak studied his hands. "Chester or a certain young lady in Chester?"

Jeremy laughed. "Why do I even try to keep anything from you?"

Isak gathered his reins together. "Because you are talking with your heart and not your head."

"Too true," Jeremy sighed, "too true. But I shall be glad to be home. Even if it is for a little while." He shook his head. "I do not know how much we will be doing while…" Jeremy paused, watching his words, "while he is not here."

"Oh, I do not know," Isak said as he scanned the autumn countryside, "there are always little things that can be done." He ginned at Jeremy. "Little experiments of Henry's that can be tried."

"Please not that!" Jeremy said with a laugh and nudged his horse forward.

He and Isak rode in silence for some time; each of them lost in private thoughts. Words did not need to be spoken, the friendship that existed between them, the weight of responsibility, and the shared secret speaking louder than any utterance. Each man thought offered silent thanks for the supplies that had been successfully delivered to Valley Forge despite the best efforts of the British. They offered silent prayers for the extra ammunition that was slowly and stealthily making its way down the Delaware. And they sent good wishes toward Bethlehem and the young general with whom they worked so closely and whom they had grown very fond of.

It was Isak who first saw the cart coming down the road toward them. "Jeremy," he said softly, pulling back on his reins, stopping his mount.

Jeremy look puzzled as he, too, stopped his horse. "What is it?"

"There is a cart coming toward us," Isak said, "and unless it is the shadows of a late afternoon playing with my eyes, I do believe it is Henry and Elizabeth in the cart."

"What?" Jeremy asked as he focused his attention down the road, following Isak's gaze. "Dear God, it is!" Jeremy shot Isak a worried look. "They would not be this far from Chester just to welcome us home." Jeremy dug his heels into his horse's flanks, taking off down the country road; Isak not far behind.

"Jeremy!" Henry called out and pulled back on his team's harness. "Thank God!"

Jeremy drew up short next to the cart, Isak at his side. "What is going on?" he wondered. "Not my father," he pleaded. Mayor Larkin was growing old and the death of Jeremy's older brother, Robert, and the secret that Jeremy could not share, were taking their toll on the man.

"No," Henry said. "Your father was fine the last time I saw him."

Jeremy finally turned his attention to Elizabeth and the woman seated beside her. "Elizabeth? Who is this?" he asked, watching as Elizabeth gave the woman a reassuring hug.

"This is Ellie FitzGarrick," Elizabeth told him, having only recently been able to coax a last name from the mysterious woman. "We found her dazed and confused when Henry and I were picnicking."

"Why are you…" Jeremy paused and fixed Elizabeth with a curious gaze. "You were picnicking with Henry?"

"Jeremy," two voices said in unison, their tone chiding.

Jeremy shook himself.

"Why are you out this far from town?" Isak wondered. "It cannot be just to ride back with us."

Ellie finally raised her head. "I have information about a plot against General Lafayette," she said softly.

"What?" Jeremy and Isak exclaimed together.


End file.
